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Daniel 6:18-23 — Daniel’s Preservation

In Daniel 6:18 we find out how the king felt about Daniel and how disturbed he was by the action he had been forced to take. We discover that he did not eat, he did not want any form of entertainment brought to him and he could not sleep that night. He must have felt very guilty for his part in this whole matter. As a result, as the first light of morning dawned he was dressed and on his way to the lions’ den. The Bible says, “When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’” (Daniel 6:20). What an unusual situation! A king was standing very early in the morning calling down into a den of lions to the man he had sentenced, asking if the man’s God had somehow been able to save him, and hoping that it was true!

Daniel gave a thrilling response to the question. He told the king that his God had sent an angel that had shut the lions’ mouths so that they didn’t hurt him. Daniel may have slept better in the lions’ den than the king had in his royal palace! God had protected Daniel just as He had protected Daniel’s three friends in the blazing furnace. They were untouched by the fire and Daniel was unhurt by any of the great beasts. Another parallel is that Daniel enjoyed the company of an angel during the night just as the three friends had enjoyed the presence of a heavenly messenger in the middle of the blazing furnace! Perhaps the angel who ministered to Daniel was the same one that Nebuchadnezzar had seen in the furnace, whom he said “looks like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25) and described as an angel sent by their God (see Daniel 3:28). Many Bible scholars believe these angelic visits in the Old Testament could have been the pre-incarnate Christ Jesus Himself.

Jesus stands with every believer in the time of trouble, whether visible as an “angel” or not. The apostle Paul wrote, “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth” (2 Timothy 4:17). What “lions” are you facing today? Thank Jesus for His presence with you and rest in the strength and peace He provides.

The king gave the immediate order that Daniel be lifted out of the lions’ den. There was not even a scratch found upon him. Why? “Because he had trusted in his God” (Daniel 6:23). Daniel was saved by faith. The author of Hebrews referred to the prophet Daniel’s faith when he wrote, “I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions” (Hebrews 11:32-33, italics added). Daniel rested in God alone for deliverance. We, too, must rest in God alone for our deliverance.